Traditional filling processes and containers have long been encumbered by a simple phenomenon that has exasperated consumers for decades--settling. Settling, as any purchaser of a bag of potato chaps knows, means the bag is never completely filled when opened. This occurs due to the settling of the product inside during its filling and shipment. This simple settling phenomenon causes tremendous economic waste each year due to the wasting of storage space and container materials. This has been particularly true in the storage, transportation, and dispensation of flowable materials in semi-bulk quantities such as grains, chemicals and other bulky substances stored in flexible, bulk containers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,143,796 and 4,194,652.
It has long been known that the settling process is caused by the natural aeration of flowable materials as the materials are placed inside a container. As the container is shipped to its final destination, the air is displaced from the aerated material mixture causing the product to compact and reduce in volume. Thus, when the container is opened, the flowable material has settled to the bottom of the container, i.e. the bag of potato chips is only half full.
Any process or system, such as the present invention, for deaerating the flowable material prior to filling a container for shipment that allows more of the container to be filled with product and reduces the excess air results in an enormous cost savings. Indeed, the shipment of smaller sized containers using vacuum sealed packages such as, e.g., vacuum sealed coffee containers, has alleviated many of the above problems of cost and time.
The present invention substantially eliminates settling and the inherent problems associated therewith by deaerating flowable material prior to filling a container for shipment. Use of the present invention thus allows more product to be transported in the same size container than is possible using prior techniques. Thus, by utilizing all of the container space, the present invention allows for the far more efficient total use of all of the container materials and space.